Saturday, November 20:
Station 127
Although the station had not been toned out again during the night, Johnny had been sleepless nonetheless. He had tossed and turned half the night before finally giving up and going to the break room. He sat in the nearly dark room, listening to the ticking of the clock accompanied by the counterpoint dripping of the sink. 'I should have studied more. Why didn't I study more? How could I have been so stupid?' The thoughts were as steady and never-ending as the quiet background rhythm.
Irritation with the noise and with himself drove him to his feet, where he began pacing a circuit between the break room and the kitchen. He reviewed the exam in his mind, unable to pinpoint what he might have missed. 'How could I not have passed the exam?' he asked himself for what must have been the millionth time. He had originally become a firefighter out of a desire to help other people. While battling blazes offered both excitement and challenge, working with people gave him the most satisfaction. Of course, firefighters helped people, too; the very reason for going into burning buildings centered more on helping people than merely saving an object. But it just wasn't the same for him. The need to be able to do more than perform CPR or apply a bandage on injured people was the main impetus behind his application for paramedic's training. Being a paramedic was more than just something he did. Being a paramedic defined his being. Being a paramedic was his life.
At 6:00 a.m. the lights came on and the morning wake-up klaxon sounded to rouse the rest of the crew. The men went about their preparations for the day. Most of B-shift started to arrive shortly before 7:00 a.m.
"Hey, Johnny. Whatcha doin' slumming over here at 127's?" Joshua Garside greeted Johnny as he came in.
"I'm, ah, I'm going to be stationed here for a while."
Joshua frowned. "Are they starting up a paramedic program here? I didn't hear anything about that..."
'Maybe I should wear a sign.' "No." Johnny looked around for an avenue of escape. Seeing none and noting the confusion on Joshua's face, he confessed, "I didn't pass the paramedic exam."
"Oh, man! I'm sorry to hear that!" Joshua appeared both sympathetic and uncomfortable. "Well, gotta get changed. See you around, Johnny."
"See you, Josh." Johnny checked at his watch again. 'Ten more minutes.'